All the voices within
by My Deliah
Summary: Alessa, a newcomer at Xavier's school is an unremarkable mutant but an excellent student. She is ambitious, thorough, charming, caring and resourceful. But behind the mask there is a totally different person hiding. Someone who is very, very cold.
1. Chapter 1

**All the voices within**

The professor sat slightly bent over his desk. It was a heavy piece carved in a dark and marvellous looking sort of wood. The style was old fashioned, like the ones you see in old movies. His gaze was dreamy and distant and his posture was relaxed. This was a man of high stance, though crippled, he was magnificent in a way. A soft knock on his office-door made him return to the present, and he sent a swift thought to the person outside, allowing her to enter. The handle shifted downwards, and the door swung open silently.

A girl on the brink of becoming a young woman stepped into the room. She had long and wavy hair in a brown and warm tone. It was neatly brushed, and looked well nourished. Her alabaster skin glowed in the sunlight that shone outside the windows of the office. She was slender but appeared to be strong. Her clothing style was neat, without wrinkles. The skirt was knee length and the blouse was buttoned up to the last button. Neutral colours. Her complexion was so tidy it made her feel like a blank piece of paper to him. She softly pushed the door shut behind her, every move was controlled and smooth. Her whole presence signalled a presence of mind.

"Welcome to my school miss Jones" the professor said. She smiled, and though her whole face lit up, there was a slight indifference in her gaze. It looked real, just that there was something missing in it.

"Thank you professor." Her voice was smooth and very well suited for a woman of her stance. Xavier motioned for her to sit down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. She sort of glided to the chair, and with a swift motion she sat down.

"So, miss Jones, I wonder what drove you here to my school?" He already suspected what the answer would be, but asking was a matter of being polite. Add to that she was difficult to read. But her credentials were impressive, a top score student with a long sheet of deeds done in benefit of society, those less fortunate and animal welfare.

"I heard that this is a school for mutants to be with their own kind. And that you can teach us to develop our powers? I came since I'm interested to learn." Her tone was charming and inviting, she showed her teeth in a sunny smile and then she neatly folded her hands on her lap.

"Then I bid you welcome to my school miss Jones. If you go with Jean she'll get you a key for your room and help you settle in. Alessa turned and looked over her shoulder. A beautiful woman with auburn hair had entered the office silently. The girl stood up from the chair and walked over to Jean, gripping her hand and shaking it while saying:

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Slightly against her will, Jean felt charmed by the girl's soft and comfortable accent, the way her presence was calm and settled. She both talked and acted much older than her nineteen years. After assuring the professor she would take well care of their new student, the two of them left the office and headed for the administration room where all keys were kept when not used. There were currently many students attending the school, but there were still many keys hanging inside the cabinet.

"I'm placing you in room 314, if that's okay with you miss Jones?" Jean asked. The girl just laughed lightly and said that any room would be fine. But if she were allowed to make a request, she would wish to have a private room. As Jean certainly knew, everyone needed place of their own at times. Jean just smiled, Alessas personality was a bit overwhelming, a bit to big to swallow somehow. And besides, what nineteen-year-old girl talks like that? The girl accepted the key and went for the door, but before exiting it, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. The smile was warm, welcoming, even playful.

"And Jean, thank you." Then she stepped outside.

Alessa found her way back to the main hall, where she ended up frozen on the spot in the big entrance room. There were corridors to her left and to her right, but they didn't look like bedroom doors, so this must be the wrong floor. She estimated the houses' size and figured her room would be on the third floor. Alessa smiled to herself. Such a big place, with so many people to play with residing here. She wondered how easy it would be, to use her charms to win them over. The best thing about being her? She always won, somehow. And someone who couldn't be won over could always be dealt with in other ways. But first, her room. She started walking up the main staircase.

The third floor was quiet and empty. It wasn't that strange considering the fact that it was almost mid-day. At this time of day, most students would be attending the last class before lunchtime. Footsteps nearby caught her attention. She listened, and they seemed to draw closer rather than further away. She felt pleased, playmates, oh goodie.

Two boys came walking through the corridor towards her. One slightly taller than the other, one with dirty-blonde hair while the taller guy was a brunette. The taller of the two had icy blue eyes, while the other one had a dark tone of hazel. Both were her age, maybe a bit younger.

"Excuse me" she called to them and they both looked up at her. Putting on her best smile she continued "I am new here and therefore I'm looking for my room. I wonder if you maybe could tell me in which direction I should go?"

The taller one introduced himself as Bobby, and then asked her what her number was.

"314 I think," she replied and sounded sincerely apologetic while she threw a glance at her key. Bobby looked on his wristwatch.

"Well, we have fifteen minutes before class, so I guess we could show you," he said, and his friend sighed, but went with them.

Later that evening she found herself standing by the window, looking out on the peaceful landscape outside. Why had she come here? She knew precisely why. People were like fireworks; all you had to do was light the fuse. And here amongst mutants, the bang must be louder, the colours brighter. It would be fun. Add to that training, better control. It would help her, strengthen her and make her more powerful.

And there was nothing Alessa liked more than power.


	2. Chapter 2

**_All The Voices within_**

_chapter 2_

* * *

Alessa looked at the article she'd cut out of the paper. It was the headline news today; a family of four had been murdered. There were pictures of the mother, father and two daughters. They were smiling happily, all four of them. She looked on their pictures and felt nothing. She held the article in front of her, looking at their faces, searching for something, an emotion. To be honest she couldn't care less about those people. She pinned the article onto the wall with steady hands. The drapes that covered the window made her room dark and shady. Her hair seemed darker than usual, almost black, and her eyes lay in shadow. This was her world of darkness, a place away from the world where she was alone, just like she wanted it.

The first thing she'd done when she arrived three weeks ago was to close the drapes. It was both because she liked the darkness, and to make sure no one would be able to look into her room. It wouldn't be good if someone did, this was _her _space. There were four cut out articles hanging on the wall, forming a sort of collage of death and despair.

Her family had been murdered when she was four, and since she had no recollection of the event, no one had ever bothered to tell her. A family living in the suburbs of New York adopted her, and through her whole life she'd never known where those feelings came from. It wasn't sorrow, nor terror, it was something much more ferocious than that. It was rage. The most ominous thing was that it was not a rage that was channelled towards anyone or anything. She was not angered when her schoolmates headed home to their real family; she felt no aggravation when she met happy people. It was just out of control rage and a sense of suppression.

She turned her face to the window and found her own reflection staring back at her. It was not something obvious, nothing special in the way she was standing, no signs of cruelty in her face, and yet there was something dark about her. Her lips split in a smile, white teeth flashing. She was not the most beautiful woman alive, nothing like Ororo Munroe. She was handsome in an aristocratic kind of way. Though no one knew it, the thing that made her beautiful was the fact that she was so unaffected by insecurity. She acted like the most beautiful person alive, and people let themselves be fooled.

She loved it.

------

Someone called out their names, and the two boys turned to the sound. Alessa Jones was striding towards them with her catlike motions. She was carrying a bunch of books under one arm, and her lunch in the other hand. She saw that there was a new girl sitting with them, pretty in a petite way with a heart-shaped face and long, brown hair. Alessa felt herself smile, and without asking she sat down at their table.

"Hello," she said to the new girl. "My name is Alessa. Are you new here?" She bent slightly forward to indicate that she was addressing the new girl and her only. It was a way of making insecure people feel more confident.

"I'm Rogue. Well, actually it's Marie, but you can call me Rogue." The girl had a comfortable southern accent.

"Well then Rogue, I hope you'll feel welcome here. I also hope that we can be friends you and me" she said flattering. The girl nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, I would like that. It feels a bit strange, being here without knowing anyone."

"I know" Alessa agreed. "I arrived just a few weeks ago myself." Then she threw a glance at her wristwatch. It was time to wrap this up.

"Well, I'm sorry but I have to go. I'm writing an essay on modern psychology, and I want it to be finished before tomorrow." She got up on her feet before turning her head saying

"See you around, Johnny boy." And then she left them sitting there in the bright sunlight that flooded in through the window in the cafeteria. She deliberately hadn't told them that she would be in the library. If they wanted to find her, they would have to look around a bit first. The first rule of keeping up the mystery is not to be too accessible.

She finished her essay around five and went to search for Jean so she could hand it to her. There was four more days to deadline, but she knew it was a plus to show that you are purposeful. Heading down the hall she heard the voice of a news reporter coming from the TV-room to her left. She stopped and stuck her head inside to see why the kids would be watching the news.

It was a reportage from a recent convention regarding the 'mutant problem' they so profoundly had chosen to call it. She saw Jean take the stand and began speaking for the mutants. Her arguments were good, not brilliant, but good, and the crowd took every chance they got to grill her. There was especially one man who was picking on her arguments, the senator, something Kelly, an unsympathetic man with cold fisheyes. Again she felt that rage sting somewhere inside her, an anger that made her eyes blacken and her reasonable conscious tremble.

Alessa suddenly heard a tiny whining sound and snapped back into reality. Her eyes scanned the room and discovered a tiny boy sitting in the floor. He was huddled in the corner between the two couches. His eyes were wide and scared, and she immediately knew that he was scared of her.

"Hi there little guy." Her voice was smooth and reassuring. "How are you feeling?" The boy flinched and drew even further back into the corner. She stopped and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I just get so carried away when I hear things like that. Don't you feel angry too?" Alessa purred with her most sincere voice. The boy seemed less frightened and he nodded. She smiled and winked at him.

"Well I have to go now. I'm sorry I scared you, okay?"

The kid nodded again and she left the room. She had to be more careful from now on, and keep a close eye on that kid. She couldn't afford any mistakes. If he caused trouble, he had to go away, quickly.

Since she couldn't find Jean anywhere she decided to leave the essay in her compartment box instead, that way she would have it tomorrow at the latest. On her way to the teachers' compartments she began thinking. The government was on the warpath, they wanted to make a 'mutant list' like the ones you had during the Second World War. This would most certainly cause uproar in the mutant world. Alessa had heard of Magneto, Xaviers' ex-friend who didn't believe that man would never learn to accept mutants. A very perceptive man, she thought. He suited her purposes perfectly; the world's eyes would be on him, especially the X-men's. And as long as they were busy she would be able to keep up the appearance.

Then she got the idea, a _most_ brilliant idea.


	3. Chapter 3

**Certh- **Thank you for the review. I took the liberty to change the time flow a bit to fit with the story, though it was very perceptive of you to notice. Also thank you for the correction, though I still think that hadsome is a better description of Alessa.

**darkfire.phoenixx- **Thank you for a very useflu review. And I totally agree with you, Alessa acts like a total Mary Sue, but I believe that will wash off more and more throughout the story. The whole idea with her is her dual personality, the MS is just an act she chose. Hope you understand what I'm hinting at.

**_To eveyone else: Reviews are Love!_**

* * *

It was Saturday morning and she was headed for the professor's office. She knew he would probably be busy with something, but that mattered little to her, she could wait until he had time. She caught a glimpse of Peter Rasputin when she entered the part where the corridor split into two. Fortunately she was not headed his way so she could avoid getting into a conversation. Instead she silently slipped into the other direction and left him behind.

The doors were passing by rapidly, she realized she was hurrying and lowered her pace a bit. This was not the best time to get excited, but it was hard not to. It was a perfect plan. If she were part of the X-men, she would join the party of 'ultimate good-guys' in the eyes of this school, an opportunity that was just what she needed. Alessa was aiming for freedom you see.

She saw someone leave the professor's office as she approached. He was a tall man with a ferocious appearance, toned muscles, crazy looking hair and magnificent sideburns. The thing that caught Alessa's interest was the brutality he radiated. This man was a beast underneath.

Logan suddenly realized someone was coming towards him, and he turned his head up to see whom it might be. A young woman of unmatched elegance, dressed like a lawyer but with the security and stance of a noble person. The moment his eyes met hers, he knew she was dangerous. There was nothing hostile about her, not in her face, not in her eyes. She actually seemed pleased over something, it was just the fact that her eyes had no bottom. She was intelligent, he realized, way too intelligent to be _just _friendly and pleased.

"Hello to _you_."

Her voice was soft, purring and her smile was hungry, almost predatory.

"You must be new here too. I would have remembered if you had been here before" she said and held out her hand as an invitation. He took it, amazed by how firm her handshake was.

"Logan" he replied. She smiled again.

"I'm Alessa, it is a pleasure to meet you." Then she let go of his hand and swept pass him. Walking away she called over her shoulder "I'm sure we will meet again Logan." Then she knocked on Xavier's door, directly indicating that this conversation was over. She heard the man leave behind her. She liked him, he had a lot of potential.

She cleared herself from emotions before she opened the door to step into Xavier's office. The man was a telepath and she was not planning to let him inside her head anytime soon. Confidently she went into the office and sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

"Ah, miss Jones, you wanted to see me?" The professor asked politely.

"Yes, I did. Professor. I wish to join the X-men."

Charles Xavier was very surprised by this fact. Alessa didn't seem to be a person who would involve herself in the mutant conflict. He once again tried to scan her mind in an attempt to find the reason for her new interest for the X-men's affairs. Once again, all he found was darkness, the being of Alessa Jones was certainly somewhere, but not in the places he could access. The number of mutants who could shut him out of their minds was minimal, but Alessa didn't deny him access to her conscious, he was just unable to find her in there.

"We usually don't accept students before their graduation from school, and you are only nineteen miss Jones."

She tilted her head to the side, piercing him with her icy gray eyes.

"And does that fact make me in any way non-qualified for the task?"

"No, of course not. I just hope that you have thought this through properly."

Her smile was winning, but her eyes still had that harsh intensity. She knew what the professor was looking for, and she knew he couldn't find it.

"Oh professor, we both know I'm smarter than most people. I have thought this through." Her voice was very assuring and the professor briefly thought that this woman was someone who could talk her way into almost everything. With that ability, she would almost certainly be able to talk others into joining her purpose also, and that would be a valuable asset for the X-men. Then her face darkened a bit.

"You see, I saw the reportage from the convention where Jean spoke," her voice became tense, but her features didn't lose that open friendliness. "And then I knew what I needed to do."

This was a very strange young woman with the smarts and the ambition for a career within the jurisdiction system or law enforcements, was now asking him to make her a foot soldier in a battle that was of little importance for her purposes. He could not help but feel that there was some other hidden motive behind her newly found ambition, but as he looked for something that would reveal these motives, he found himself clueless. She seemed to mean every word she'd spoken, but yet there was something that didn't quite add up.

"So what is your answer? Will you let me help?" There was sorrow and eagerness in her voice, a rare mixture of two opposite emotions. This girl… this woman was full of secrets. Though Charles doubted the simplicity of her motives, he did not doubt her honesty. In her previous high school she'd been known as a fundraiser. She collected money for the poor in Africa, adopted a foster child through an organisation and volunteered at a help-line. She was the perfect example of the students her wished to educate, young people who cared for others, who didn't let anyone else choose for them. He felt he couldn't deny her this, or more important, he didn't find any reasons to deny her.

"You will begin training on Monday," he told her, and Alessa's smile became wide.

"Yes professor."

Then she left the office.

Back in the common room she found a group of young kids. They were standing in a small group and seemed to be excited over something. Chattering, they passed something between them and stared at it with awe. Feeling slightly curious, Alessa drew a bit closer only to see that the item the kids were so excited over was the new Harry Potter book. How amazing it is, that these kids had probably lived long enough to experience the hostility they received from the outside world, and yet they were still interested in listening to a story about a boy who had to endure mockery and difficulties similar to their own problems. If that was not innocence, then nothing was innocent anymore.

With her smoothly persuasive manner she took the part as a storyteller. She watched their faces turn from frightened, to happy to troubled along with the characters in the book. Lively she impersonated all the characters in the book with passion and conviction. Her voice transformed from being slow and mighty as Dumbledore to light and pretentious as Hermione. The look on their faces as they were spellbound by the story became intoxicating, the magic began to flow, her magic. This was power, the ability to captivate and seduce. With this kind of influence over them, she would be able to twist and bent reality, and they would never question her.

She just loved it.

She read four chapters, and then declared the story time over, to the children's great disappointment. She returned the book to its place in the bookshelf and then left the room. She knew someone was watching her, he'd been watching for a half hour. Alessa just walked without acknowledging him, knowing that he would make contact without her help. That was the fine thing about her dominance, she didn't have to come to people, she just had to grab a hold of them and then watch as they came running to her. Complete domination, how sweet it was. She sent Logan a thought, she still liked him, though he might be dangerous to her. She sensed he was immune to her seduction, maybe since they were somewhat alike each other. That would make him one of the few people who could sense her true nature, and possibly be a threat to her. If it came to that, she would have to rid of him, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that, after all, she liked him.

Logan was nothing like the boy following her now, this one had no idea of the game she was playing. This boy was under her spell, he'd swallowed the bait and most important, he believed the lie.

"Alessa" came the call from behind her. She slowed her pace down a bit, allowing him to catch up with her. He was distressed, unsettled, she could tell by the way he didn't look right at her.

"What's on your mind Johnny boy?"

She stopped and looked at him intensely. John felt her eyes bore into him like a dagger. Her voice was soft and though the nickname made him feel slightly humiliated, he felt no anger towards her. A strand of her hair had escaped the knot it was tied in, and fell across her cheek in a gentle curl. She was perfect, unattainable and he wanted to say something impressing that would make her acknowledge him as a person, anything to rid himself of the feeling inferiority. But he couldn't think of anything, angrily he flicked the lighter.

"I hate that nickname" he said sharply with his hazel orbs flashing. The unmistakable look of hurt spread across her face and she turned away from him.

"Hey, look I'm sorry okay?"

He was ashamed, she could tell from the diminished tone in his voice. Inwardly she smiled, this was total domination. She turned to him again, making sure she still looked slightly offended.

"If you don't like it, I won't call you that anymore. I'm sorry." She really wasn't, but he didn't know that. "So what was it you wished to ask me." She kept her voice emotionless, but her face was still openly inviting. He seemed to be hesitating and his eyes were wandered around the room.

"I was wondering… If you don't have anything better to do… I guess I'm asking you if you want to watch a movie with us tonight?… Or something." Damned, the insecurity, he hated it. He just wanted to say something impressing, just to make her stop looking like that. She had such an indifferent expression in her eyes, like his words mattered very little to her. He still didn't know why it mattered to him, she'd only been here for a week or so, and there was no real reason to why he cared so much about what she thought about him. Usually he would have stopped bothering, but there was something so enticing about her, like a drug you needed to have to be able to cope. He wondered if she knew how strongly she affected the people around her. Probably not.

Her head tilted slightly to the side, and though her tone was regrettable, her face didn't suggest any of that emotion.

"I'm sorry John but I'll be leaving tonight and I won't be back until tomorrow evening. Another time maybe?" She smiled. Before his conscious had been able to grip what was happening, she had leaned close with a sweeping motion and kissed him on the cheek before trailing off in a fast pace. Never before had he seen someone move that fast so smoothly.

She left him behind, feeling rather pleased with herself. She had about thirty hours before Monday morning when her training would begin. God, she loved being herself. While the rest of the world stood frozen with fear and despair, most of the would never attain complete freedom. But soon they would get something to talk about…

…Very soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Than yous' are in the review section**

Reviews are love!!

-----

Alessa hadn't shown up for the English lesson on Monday morning. Jean asked her classmates if anyone had any idea of where she could be, but no one seemed to know anything of her whereabouts. It did not seem like her to oversleep, and she would definitely never skip class. It was sort of disturbing, because no one could recall seeing her after lunch on Saturday when she left the common room after reading to some kids.

As soon as class ended Jean headed for Alessa's room on the third floor. She harshly knocked on the door three times, and then she waited for some sort of reply. When nothing happened she knocked three times again, but still nothing happened. Jean then turned her pace to the professor's office. Missing students were always a concern here, they could have fallen victims for some anti-mutant group, being captured, lost and such. The thing that made this place unique was that Charles actually cared for these kids. He wanted to give them the chance to live in a world where they would be accepted for who they are. A missing student would be important to him; otherwise Jean wouldn't have considered bothering him.

The professor raised his head as Jean entered his office and told him the news. The professor frowned, his eyebrows curled and he seemed to be thinking.

"I could try to track her with Cerebro, but we have to be absolutely sure she is not in her room first. If she doesn't answer you force the door open. If she still is not to be found you will return here and I will search for her through Cerebro." He looked troubled; there was something fishy about her absence. Though Alessa's level of mutation was mediocre she was far from defenceless. Untrained she would be twice as strong as an average female and her speed was highly increased, she was more than able to defend herself. Charles Xavier had a creeping feeling that Alessa had gone by her own free will. There was something there, something disturbing, but no matter how he twisted or turned it, he could not find out what it might be. He hoped that Jean would find her in her room, that the young woman had overslept, but he didn't believe it in his heart.

Jean walked rapidly up to the third floor again, though she felt it was futile; the girl would not be there, no more than she'd been the last time she checked. The door came into view, but it was still closed. Come to think of it, that door was always closed, no matter if Alessa was in it or not. It was as if the girl didn't want anyone else in her room, as if she didn't even want anyone to approach her as she was inside this room. She would always sort of slide out the door without revealing any of the interior of the room, or at least she had done so every time Jean had been watching. She raised her fist and pounded firmly on the door. The students around her froze and turned to look at the spectacle. More and more people gathered around, and Jean had just taken the decision to force the door open when a sharp voice sounded in the corridor.

"And _what _exactly are you planning to do once you have broken into _my_ room?"

Jean flinched; her eyes wandered and fell on Alessa's threatening shape. The attractive and charming young woman had left her features. She seemed taller than before, her jaw clenched and her posture tensed. Jean's eyes flickered and then met Alessa's, and she suddenly felt cold from the inside out. The young woman's eyes glimmered with something unnameable, and Jean suddenly saw it, as clear as ray of sun on a spring morning, the suppressed rage. There was an Alessa standing here she did not recognize, her eyes seemed to have darkened and her hands looked like claws.

Jean felt the cold hand of fear grip her heart, making it beat faster. There was something within this girl that was to dark, to vast and ominous for her to understand.

And then the girl blinked and the spark in her eyes died. Her body relaxed and Alessa returned to her freakish state of perfection.

"_Jean_" she said in a warm voice. "Jean, I have been looking for you." Elegantly she moved closer to Jean who stood frozen a couple of feet away from her bedroom door. She stopped face to face with the older woman, elegantly placed between Jean and the door. Though it seemed like a random motion, Jean knew it wasn't, it was a clear statement. _"Stay away from my place"_

"As it happens, I overslept this morning, and as soon as I woke up I went straight to the faculty room to find you, except you weren't there. I then went back here thinking that I would search for you later, and here you were. _What _a lucky coincidence, don't you think?"

Jean raised her left hand in which she held a paper.

"This is what you missed from today's class. I will interrogate you on it tomorrow so you better practise." She gave Alessa the paper and then walked away rather rapidly. She wanted to lay as much ground between Alessa and herself as possible. Back at the door the manipulative girl smiled in a flirty manner.

"Go on people, show's over now" and she recklessly waved her left hand. The students began to move and she took the chance to slip into her room.

It was still dark in here and the air was damp. She quietly closed the door and then stood motionless. She was angry; blood was rushing through her veins and throbbing in her ears. Her hand clenched turning Jean's paper into a little wrinkly ball before she dropped it. The anger was blinding her; it was burning in her veins. She rapidly walked into the middle of the room and grabbed the chair by the desk. Then she felt the familiar click go off inside her, and she could no longer withstand the wrath, she felt the scream rise in her throat. Using her abnormal strength she wrenched the chair in the air, screaming out of frustration and disappointment. She smashed the wooden chair against the wall and watched it shatter, feeling the pain as splinters dug their way into her alabaster skin. She stumbled to the bag that had been carelessly thrown into the corner on the left side of the door; she dug inside of it with greedy and unsteady hands until she found the pictures. Some part of her wanted to rip them into shreds, the part that wanted them to stop staring at her. She hated that part, she didn't understand it, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not control it. She was always able to understand everything at all levels, her brilliance guided her through everything, but she could not yield herself against this illogical feeling of disappointment.

She took a pin from the box standing on top of her drawer and hung one of the photos on the wall. There was a little boy on the picture, he was about six or seven years old and he had blond, angelic hair. His incredibly blue eyes sparkled as he smiled to the photographer. God what a beautiful child. When she was done she stood there, just looking, driven by some inner desire. Hour after hour went by, but she paid no attention to the time. Later that afternoon she would go through her first training session but for now she would be standing here, looking at the wall, thinking…

------

She found Kitty, John, Rogue, Bobby and Peter down in the TV-room. Kitty was the youngest in the room and sat a bit by herself. She was a bit shy and Alessa saw that she wanted to make contact with the other four students; she had not taken the courage to do it yet. She was sitting on her own private corner of the couch, her eyes wandered between the other four mutants. John flicked his lighter and threw the ball of fire into the fireplace and the wood caught fire with a cracking sound that made Rogue and Peter jump. Bobby made an irritable noise and stirred a bit.

"Could you keep yourself from doing things like that for once?" Alessa could hear the tiredness in his voice. This wasn't the first time he'd asked that from his pyromaniac friend. "Remember that time when the drapes caught fire and you did seemingly nothing to prevent it?" Then Drakes face lit up a bit. "Man, you got in trouble for that one." The two boys laughed at the memory. Rogue still seemed a bit awkward; the feeling of being an outsider was still dwelling in her. Alessa put on her most inviting smile and entered the room.

"Hi you guys," she said and slipped down in the couch next to John, close enough to feel the warmth from his body. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing really, just hanging I guess" Bobby replied and leaned back against the soft cushions.

"Where were you doing english class today?" Peter asked her. His Russian accent was almost unnoticeable, but she was able to hear it very clearly. Another one of her talents was mimicking different accents, a game she gladly played.

"I was sleeping. I've been working pretty intensely on a project the whole weekend and somehow forgot to set the clock." She chuckled a bit. "Imagine my terror when I realized I'd missed the whole class. I have never even been late before this day."

John flinched but tried not to show it to the others. He'd asked her if she wanted to join them on Friday night, and she had told him that she was going away for the weekend. Why was she lying to them now, especially when he was sitting right beside her? Her head turned and she looked straight at him, smiling, and there was no lie in her eyes. She must have changed her plans, he thought. She must have decided to stay and then she'd probably been too busy to tell him about it. Her eyes wandered around and she lent forward and grabbed the remote.

"Is it okay with you if I turn on the TV?"

No one argued with her and she pressed the little red button on the remote. The TV awoke with a soft humming sound, showing the face of a young news reporter. His voice was steady and flat as he read the starting text to the big headline of the day, but the slight tremble of his hands betrayed him.

"_Good evening. Today's big story, a family of three has been found murdered in the outskirts of New York City. This killing is the fifth the state of New York and the police has now stated that we are dealing with a serial killer. The members of the family were found hanging by the ceiling; their hands and feet had been separated from their bodies. The police believe the killer is a male suffering from a long-term mental illness. He is estimated to be potentially dangerous to anyone in his surroundings. The murder took place between 11p.m. and 2a.m. anyone who recall seeing or hearing something strange in the area during that time are encouraged to contact the police."_

Pictures of the family members, their house and the neighbourhood was shown throughout the whole broadcast. The mother and father were holding hands on one of the pictures while the child; a beautiful boy with angel hair was sitting on the ground, tugging his mother's leg. The father held his left arm lifted, pointing straight into the camera. The surroundings had a tropical feeling to it, palm trees and colourful flowers. It looked like the picture had been taken somewhere in Spain or Italy.

All six teenagers sat frozen during the broadcast, staring at the TV screen with grave expressions.

"How horrible," Rogue stated, and there was an apparent tremble in her voice. She felt shaken to the very foundation on which she was standing. Who would ever murder a child, who could be so cold and heartless? Then she noticed that something was going on with Alessa. The girl was staring at the screen as if hypnotized. Her hands were closed so tightly her knuckles were whitening. The report had obviously shaken her too, deeply. Rogue was just about to call for her attention when she noticed something. There was an unreadable expression in Alessa's eyes; something strange was stirring in her chilly gray orbs. The boys had noticed it too, and they were looking at one another, unsure of what to do.

"Alessa?" Rogue said softly. Still wearing that odd expression, the girl turned her face to Rogue. Her eyes held the depth of the abyss, and for a moment she seemed to be staring straight through Rogue. Then Alessa flinched and seemed to return to reality.

"What is wrong?" Rogue asked.

"Nothing, it's just… you see my family was murdered when I was five. I guess I just feel a bit…" Her voice faded. She did not look sad, neither did she have any grieve in her voice, and yet there was something there. Alessa looked at their horrified expressions. Bobby opened his mouth to say something, but she stopped him.

"No, don't say it. People die all the time, and I don't even remember much about them, so it's nothing to feel sorry about."

She got up on her feet and threw a glance at her wristwatch. It was time to leave for training.

"I have to go. I'll see you later." The ordinary Alessa was back and she threw them a warm smile before she left the TV room and disappeared down the corridor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Special thank you's in the Review section// Author**

_Chapter 5_

* * *

After training with Storm, Jean and Cyclops on the school grounds, Alessa returned to the mansion. She crossed path with a bunch of younger students on their way out the front door, one of them was the boy from the TV room last week. He threw her suspicious looks as he rushed pass her, and then they were gone.

Today had been physique training since an X-man has to be well fit for any task that might come up. They had been running, lifting weights and then completed an obstacle course. Alessa had noticed that Jean still looked upon her with slight suspicion, and had done her best to regain her trust. She shouldn't have let her temper slip, but it was getting harder and harder to control herself. Pretending to be someone you aren't, suppressing your true feelings, it's all very tiring. She had promised herself that this morning would be the only time she would lose control. She needed to hide herself behind this mask until the plan was in proceeding. If she revealed herself too early it would mean her end, they would lock her away.

She tried to keep her emotions hidden, tried to charm her way into Jean's heart again, and felt that Jean was a little less suspicious by the end of training. Storm and Scott made sure she was keeping up with the pace, but soon discovered that it was totally unnecessary. Alessa's mutation had increased her physical capacity and she seemed to breeze through this. She was already fit and thus far above the average woman in both speed and strength. Her muscles were perfectly developed for her purposes and she felt strong and fit. The thing she had come here for was the combat skills. They would make her stronger, more dangerous than before.

She climbed the stairs to the third floor and went into her room. The setting sun made the faint light inside her room glow in a golden tone. The evening was near, and then the night would follow. She loved the night, the darkness turned everything to shades of gray and black, people went to sleep in their beds and all was quiet. Night was her element. She threw one last glance out in the corridor, and then she shut her bedroom door, and locked it from the inside.

------

Bobby led Rogue back to the room she shared with two other girls. The corridor behind them was dark and abandoned; all students were in their rooms getting ready for bed. Rogue was looking down at the wooden floor at her feet, avoiding Bobby's intense blue eyes.

"This is my room" she said and stopped by the open door.

"Yeah…" he replied and leaned against the doorpost in front of her. He looked as though there was something more he wanted to say.

"Do you wanna meet me for lunch tomorrow?" He nervously awaited her reply. She seemed to consider it for a moment.

"Sure." Then she sort of slid into the room. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight"

He waited until she had shut the door, and then he walked away.

Rogue lay in bed for a couple of hours, unable to sleep. She was thinking about Logan, wondered if he couldn't sleep either. She could hear the calm breathing from her fellow roommates and knew that they were all sleeping. Quietly she got out of bed and went out the door.

* * *

Alessa awoke suddenly. Wondering what had disturbed her sleep, she got out of bed and grabbed a white blouse from her cabinet. She completed the outfit with camel-coloured trousers and then snuck up to her door and placed her ear against it. Now she understood why she was awake, there was someone outside, in the corridor.

She carefully turned the doorknob and pushed the door slightly open and threw a glimpse outside. She spotted Rogue outside in the hall, heading away from her own room. Though the damp light in the corridor, Alessa could see Rogue very clearly. She was wearing a long nightgown, barefoot, obviously trying to make as little sound as possible.

Alessa felt the corners of her mouth turn upwards and a vicious smile, and she began stalking the girl. Her feet moved soundlessly over the floor, Rogue had no idea that there was someone behind her. Momentarily Alessa played with the thought of what would happen if Rogue disappeared, just went missing suddenly. She decided it was not a good idea, and she settled with following the girl instead. Alessa briefly wondered where she was going, not that it really mattered, but sometimes people surprised her. Just when she thought she knew it all, someone did something unexpected and she had to reconsider her theories.

Alessa was convinced that people were miserable, and that they had invented God as a comfort because if there was a God, then there was a clear reason for their misery. Therefore people went through their whole lives telling themselves they were supposed to be miserable, without ever knowing why. _"Poor spineless maggots,"_ she thought and her lips split in a hollow smile.

Rogue stopped before one of the shut doors and raised a pale hand, knocking a couple of times. There seemed to be no reply from the room inside, but she grabbed the doorknob and turned it anyway. Carefully the girl pushed the door slightly open and peered inside before stepping into the room. Alessa followed silently while looking around to make sure no one else was present at the scene. She grabbed the doorframe with her left hand, and peered into the dark room. She saw Rogue standing by the side of the bed inside, looking at the person sleeping with an alarmed expression. The man was throwing himself around in the bed, grunting and moaning. It was Logan, and he was obviously having a bad dream.

Alessa wondered what it was like to dream. She knew that she used to do it when she was younger. Dreams about fairytale lands were people lived in prosperity and adored their king and queen. The king was always elder, he had a handsome face with strong feautres, and the queen was always beautiful, smiling. But as the years went by, the queen's smile became wider and then seemed to be melting. She became distorted and frightening, her eyes were like empty caves and her smile was hollow and haunted. Alessa didn't want to dream about the queen anymore, she was evil, and she scared Alessa. There was a time when those dreams were just fantasy, but not anymore. Her dreams were not pale illusions anymore, they were real. She wondered if Logan somewhere inside of him knew that it was a dream… or maybe his dreams were real too?

"Logan," Rogue said insecurely and tried to wake him up. Her fingers briefly touched his shoulder, he flinched and drew back. "Logan!" Her voice was louder this time. Alessa straightened her back and drew away from the door. She had lost interest in them now and toyed with the thought of going for a nightly walk. Then she heard a ferocious roar from inside and the sound of metal cutting through flesh. Rogue made a gagging sound and Alessa threw a glance inside again. Logan's metal claws had bored straight through Rogue's shoulders and were sticking out of her back. Her shocked expression seemed to have frozen solid. Logan withdrew his claws and Rogue swayed where she stood. Then her fingers trailed to his shoulders, grabbing them firmly. Alessa knew what Rogue's powers were, and she understood that Rogue was currently stealing some of Logan's life force, unethical, but pretty fascinating. She became of other students who had been drawn to the place, and as they gathered behind her hoping to catch a glimpse of what was going on, she decided to leave.

Back in her bed Alessa was thinking. Mutants descended from humans, like humanity descended from apes, and everyone knew that humans were superior to apes. Then why was it that the people here argued that mutants were not superior to humans? Did anyone here argue that apes were lower beings? Primates were put in cages and used in experiments and it was universally accepted, then why not mankind?

She closed her eyes and thought about humans in cages, hundreds of them, and they were all looking at her with fear, filled with the realization that she was superior. The mental image brought some satisfaction to her urge and she smiled knowing that someday it would be true. After all, her logic was undeniable.

-----

"Alessa?" The professor's voice brought her back from her mental wastelands. They were walking in the sterile corridor of the underground base beneath the school, the X-men's headquarters. She did not know yet why the professor had asked her down here, but her mental alarm clocks told her that the old fool still blindly trusted her. And after all, why wouldn't he? She was the perfect student, the accomplished young woman and the ambitious X-man (or woman).

"Yes professor?" She was warm, polite and very cautious to show him proper respect.

"Your suite has arrived. Every member of the X-men is given one of these." He pressed a button and the wall beside them split into two parts, revealing a hidden sort of closet was leather suits were hanging in a row. The one farthest to the left was tagged 'Alessa'

"How cute," she said. "Kind of like team shirts."

"I'm very assured by the fact that you are taking all of this so seriously."

The old man had some humour after all.

"Now if you excuse me I will have to head back up to my study. I have a strong feeling that I am needed there." Xavier said and turned his wheelchair around after pressing the button again. The wall slid back into place, and there was no visible sign of the suits that were hidden behind it. Alessa suddenly had a feeling that something was pressing the old man. Maybe this was her chance to shine.

"I'll come with you if you don't mind."

He didn't mind at all.

-----

Alessa was sitting inside the car alongside with Jean and the professor. They were waiting, unsure of what was going on inside the train station. Alessa remembered the blast of red light that had penetrated the ceiling some minutes ago and she thought that things could not be going well for the X-men. The police had arrived some minute after the red beam and were stationed outside of every exit with their guns pointed to the doors, ready to fire if necessary.

Logan had come rushing into the professor's office all of a sudden, claiming that Rogue was missing. The professor had located her with Cerebro, and they had gone off to here.

She watched the doors closely. Someone or something seemed to be going on inside, she could see that shadows of three or four people who were coming closer to the doors. Then a man stepped outside, followed by two other men who were obviously his subordinates. The man leading the group wore a funny looking helmet while the largest of his companions carried Rogue's motionless body. The policemen called for them to surrender, but they didn't seem to have any intentions to do so. Their guns were suddenly torn out of their hands by an unseen force and pointed against themselves. Now the policemen had fear shining in their eyes. Alessa watched the spectacle with boredom. The only thing that made her feel even the slightest bit interested was the man in the middle of the trio. He looked like a man of power, solid as a leader with a strike of cruelty on his blue orbs. She threw a glance at Xavier, and saw that his eyes were closed. She turned her gaze back to the trio and saw that the large, beastly looking man had his huge hand wrapped over the elder man's throat. Beast-man's eyes were fogged and distant, like he was mere an empty shell. The elder man spoke, but his words not directed to the car in which they sat, he was talking to his friend, and through him to Charles Xavier. The professor told him to let Rogue go, though Alessa knew he wouldn't. One of the policemen's guns turned the safety off by itself, and then fired.

Alessa had expected the bulled to come shooting out of the man's head in the back, but instead it froze only millimetres away from his forehead. The other men's guns loaded and got ready to shoot and the one bullet that soared in front of the man seemed to begin to dig into his forehead. He screamed and Alessa could see that Charles had been defeated; he was unwilling to make sacrifices like this. The beast-man loosened his grip of his leaders throat, and both of his companions seemed to come to their senses. Alessa could read the words on the elder man's lips

"_Same old Charles, still unwilling to make sacrifices."_

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	6. Chapter 6

**All the voices within**

_Chapter 6_

--

She was sitting on her chair by the window, looking out on the world with its shadows, which grew longer and longer as the sun went down into the horizon. Her chair was rugged and wry, askew from all her blind frenzies. Alessa seldom lost control in front of other people; they were her enemies, faceless shells, twisted and distorted beyond recognition. But things changed when she was alone, when the things inside of her were set loose. She never wondered about her fury, never questioned where it came from. She figured they all felt it, all the pathetic low lives that dared call themselves humans. She could never think of herself as one of them, they just didn't measure up. They were tools waiting to be used and then thrown away. They were nothing like her.

Her chain of thoughts was broken as she saw a shape approaching the mansion. He was still pretty far away; it would probably take him fifteen minutes to get here. Her lips split in a malicious smile when she saw who it was; a certain senator, spokesperson for the anti-mutant opinion. Senator Kelly was coming here, alone, late in the evening. That must mean that something had happened, something bad: for him at least. And if he was along there would be no one there to protect him, he would be all on his own.

She made her decision, Kelly had outplayed his part in this story, and it was his time to visit the slaughterhouse.

Alessa pulled a cardigan around her and then slipped out of her room into the corridor. It was empty of students in this late hour and she could pace forward without risk of being seen. She headed for the main staircase of the eastern wing of the mansion, putting her feet down with caution. It was best if she went by both unseen and unheard; sometimes that walls have eyes. As she came closer to the location of the stairway, she heard voices from one of the rooms on the right side of the hallway; one angry voice that belonged to Logan, and two others; Storm and the professor. She stopped and remained still, listening to what they were saying.

"His helmet was somehow designed to block my telepathy," the professor stated. There was a short pause, then; "Couldn't see what he was after till it was too late."

She heard footsteps coming closer to the doorway. Surely it was Logan about to leave the room, she could hear it from the angry stomping.

"Where are you going?" Storm sounded slightly tired. After all, it was just like Logan to storm off without mentioning where he was going.

"To find her." His answer was short, aggressive.

"How?" It was the professor asking.

"The traditional way: look" Logan replied and left the room, stomping down the corridor without as much as a look behind him. He hadn't even sensed that Alessa was there, something he would have done if he weren't letting his emotions flood his mind as he always did. Storm followed only a couple of steps behind, pursuing him down the stairs. Making a quick decision again, Alessa followed the two of them.

"Logan, you can't do this alone." Storm was very persistent when she wanted to. This didn't seem to affect Logan all that much however. Alessa smiled, he was definitely someone she could like, and he was like her in many ways, though a bit more impulsive.

"And who's gonna help me, you? So far you've all done a bang-up job." The old sarcasm was back, humouring the thought of them helping him.

"Then help us. Fight _with _us." Storm's request was eager, tentative.

"Fight with you? Join the team? Be an X-man?" there was a very ugly tone in his voice, mockery. Alessa sighed internally; he let his stubbornness complicate what was best for him. It was time for her to enter.

"Ah, come on Logan. It is not so bad," she said playfully and stepped up behind Storm who flinched, obviously she'd been unaware of the other woman's presence.

"Who the hell do you people think you are? You're _mutants_. The whole world out there is full with people who hate and fear you and you're wasting your time trying to protect them. I got better things to do." He turned away from them, heading towards the exit door of the eastern wing. After only a few steps he stopped and turned around again. Apparently he still had something on his mind.

"You know Magneto's right, there is a war coming. Are you sure you're on the right side?"

"At least we've chosen a side," Storm replied firmly. There was an ounce of pride in her voice, very suiting for a woman with her emanation. Logan rolled his eyes and turned away from the two of them. He grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open, only to find senator Kelly in the hall outside. He was panting heavily and looked as if he was sick.

"I'm looking for doctor Jean Grey," he said and then he collapsed just in time for Logan to catch him.

* * *

They brought the senator down to the observation room in the top floor of the secret underground levels. Alessa knew that there was a bottom floor of the underground base, but she had never been there, and she strongly suspected that no other X-man had set their foot inside those rooms either. She briefly wondered what the professor hid in there; obviously something important, and considering the big hush-hush around it, she would guess that it was something dangerous as well. She was curious, but knew that the professor would show her. She knew because she would _make _him show her. It would take time to get him to trust her enough, but she could be very patient when she put her mind to it.

Logan and herself supported the senator who seemed to have lost all strength and will to walk by himself; he simply hung between them, half unconscious with his arms swinging like the limbs of a rag doll. His weight mattered little to her; she was getting stronger as the full potential of her power continued to unfold. Her senses sharpened, she could hear, see and smell entirely new things that had been hidden before. The senator would have felt heavy to any other woman but to her it was like carrying a purse; not heavy, just annoying but necessary. The entrance to the observation room was open when they arrived and they dragged the senator inside and steered towards a hospital bunk to place him on.

"Okay, we throw him up on three, ready?" Logan told her.

"Yeah, I'm ready." She wished she had killed him instead

"Three."

With on hand under each arm, and the other clutching the knee joint they heaved the senator onto the bunk. Storm and her took off his jacket and t-shirt so that they would attach the electrodes on his chest, and then they waited for Jean and the professor to arrive.

Alessa was looking at the senator's face with an indifferent expression. She knew that many mutants would stare upon the same face with anger, fear and resentfulness, carving for revenge and knowing that they had it only a few feet away. But she felt nothing of this. Senator Kelly was not important to her in any way, he meant nothing to her; just another face in the crowd. It didn't matter to her that he feared and probably hated her and the rest of all the mutants in the world. He was just another person amongst the others, and they all looked the same on the inside. Alessa wondered what he would have done if they had been alone in this room, if he was the strong one and she was the submissive one. Would he have taken the shot, or would he have missed the chance by letting it drift away into the steady wind. She figured he would have let her go; the senator sure had a lot of things to say, but he never had the guts to actually do it. Alessa on the other hand knew exactly what she would have done to him; chop-chop, no more Kelly.

The professor wheeled into the room followed by Jean. While she stopped to look at the monitors, Xavier went straight to the senator's side. The senator said something about hospitals; the professor replied something about mutants. Alessa didn't really pay attention to the conversation. This was getting horribly uninteresting, and she let her eyes wander around the room in the search for something worthy of her interest. The professor wheeled around and placed his hands on either side of the senator's forehead, over his temples to do his mind exploring.

* * *

They left Storm to watch over the senator when Xavier was done with him. He had obviously seen something that needed to be shared in private, away from the senator's ears. Also, Cyclops had yet to be informed of the senator's presence here. Jean went to find Scott while Logan and Alessa went with the professor back to his study. There they waited until all were gathered again before the conversation began. Xavier spoke of some sort of machine he'd seen Magneto use on the senator.

"The machine emits radiation that triggers mutation in ordinary human beings," Xavier explained

"But the mutation is unnatural, Kelly's body is rejecting it. His cells began to break down immediately," Jean continued. Logan who was tracing around the room remained silent.

"What effect does the radiation have on mutants?" Cyclops asked.

"There appears to be none, but I fear it will seriously harm any normal person exposed to it." Xavier replied and turned to look at Logan who'd stopped tracing a moment ago.

"So what does Magneto want with Rogue?" Logan asked darkly. The professor looked slightly exhausted as he replied

"I don't know."

Logan looked as to he was getting ready to leave, ready to throw himself out there and begin a futile search for her, encouraged by the simple thought of _"At least I'm doing something." _Alessa had to brace herself from sighing and rolling her eyes; what an idiotically stubborn man.

"Wait a second," Scott suddenly shot in. "You said that this machine draws its power from Magneto, and that it weakened him."

"Yes," Xavier got a sudden ominous streak in his voice. "In fact it nearly killed him."

Logan quickly put two and two together.

"He's going to transfer his power to Rogue and use her to power the machine."

They all stared at each other with terror. Alessa on the other hand marvelled over the brilliance of this plan, it was so easy and rogues power was perfect to do something like this with. Since she knew that there would be a huge rescue operation now, she thought that she had to keep this idea stored in her mind, because if they actually managed to save Rogue the plan might come in handy for her in the future. Though she didn't like the thought of borrowing someone else's ideas, she thought that she could make an exception for this one. There was steel in that old man, she thought. He was not to be underestimated.

"Cyclops, you and Storm ready the jet, I'm gonna find Rogue." the professor determined. "Jean, get Logan and Jones a uniform."

"Wait a minute, he's not coming with us, is he?" Cyclops stood up. Those two really didn't like each other.

"Yes" Xavier sounded sure about this decision. Scott's mouth was fell open for a slight second.

"I'm Sorry professor, but he'll endanger the mission and.." he however was interrupted in the middle of the sentence by Logan.

"Hey I wasn't the one who gave the station a new sunroof, pal."

"No, you were the one who stabbed Rogue through the chest." Cyclops added with a poisonous tone. They reminded Alessa of two bulls, standing on either side of an arena waving their horns trying to determine which one the alpha male is.

"Scott," Jean said and attempted to take her man by the arm.

"Hey, why don't you take your little mission and stick it up…" Logan never got to finish, because the door swung open and Storm burst in.

"Senator Kelly is dead." she said and wrapped up the little heated conversation that took place inside the study. The professor sighed, and he suddenly had a deeply concerned look on his face.

"I'm going to find her." Then he looked at Logan and Cyclops with a piercing gaze. "Settle this," he said firmly.

Jean followed the professor back down into the underground level. They headed for Cerebro where Xavier would locate Rogue and thereby get the mission started. Jean felt the she should keep quiet, but there was something stirring inside her mind, prodding to be said.

"Professor," she began. Charles head turned and she had his full attention. "I think it's a mistake to bring Alessa on this mission."

"Don't worry Jean, I know she's ready for this or I wouldn't bring her." Xaviers voice was reassuring but firm, a way to indicate that his decision was final, but Jean couldn't let the subject go that easily.

"I'm sorry, but I don't trust her."

"But I do," Charles replied securely. Jean bit her lip.

"But you didn't see her the other morning. I saw something there, something I haven't seen before," Jean braced herself. "She found me outside her door that morning when she was missing, and I'm telling you that I have never seen anything like the emotion I saw in her eyes then. It was like she was someone else."

They reached the sealed door that led into Cerebro and stopped. Charles suddenly grabbed her hand, holding it firmly with one hand, he patted it with his other.

"Don't worry Jean, I know that she can be trusted, and if we never let her prove her loyalty, then we will never know if I'm right or not."

Then he let go of her hand and wheeled into Cerebro, leaving Jean behind with a defeated feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She watched the doors close, separating the two of them.

"She really scared me, that's all."

* * *


End file.
